Worthing hotel meeting becomes a 'farce' as hundreds left queueing in the street

Amended plans have been submitted to convert Windsor House Hotel, in Windsor Road, into shared accommodation with 44 bedrooms –tailored towards homeless vulnerable males.

Residents have described Windsor House Hotel as the ‘wrong location for such a mass over-concentration’.

Led by the developers, SDR Living and Worthing Borough Council, a meeting took place at East Worthing Community Centre on Thursday (June 15).

According to Kevin Jenkins, leader of the Conservative group in Worthing, the event was due to run between 3 and 6pm ‘despite many residents complaining that it was too short a period of time’ and ‘too early in the day’.

Hundreds of people arrived around 5pm but the room booked for the meeting was too small to let everyone in.

Mr Jenkins wrote on Twitter that the meeting ‘descended into farce’ as nearly 150 residents were ‘excluded and not allowed into the premises’ before the consultation ‘came to an abrupt end’.

He added: “Protesting outside, their voices were clear that the location of this type of accommodation in the Windsor House Hotel was unacceptable

“Frankly it couldn't be clearer, despite the hard sell by SDR Living, council officers and the many Labour councillors in attendance, people were simply not convinced that this was the right use of the site.

“Their anger was palpable, with many who had supported these councillors at the last election making it very clear they wouldn't do so again if this goes through.”

Pennie Joyce, mum-of-two and resident of Windsor Road, said there were ‘a lot of disabled people’ and ‘they couldn’t access the room’.

She added: “They were standing in hot sunshine without any opportunity to see or hear anything. We did actually write to the council with concerns about the size of the venue.

“They said it wasn’t necessary as not enough people had registered to attend. That was a pity. We expressed it was short notice for a lot of people. Communication was an issue.

“We wanted people to have a say. It’s about everybody not just a few people. There wasn’t the accessibility. The room was tiny.”

Worthing Borough Council has since issued a statement. A spokesperson said: “Unfortunately not everyone that attended the Windsor House Hotel community consultation event at East Worthing Community Centre was able to access the venue last night. The venue was chosen due to its close proximity to Windsor House Hotel, but was not big enough to accommodate everyone that attended.

“We held the consultation inside and spoke to those outside so that more people could have their say and no one was turned away, but we are sorry if anyone that attended felt that their voice was not heard. Inside, the meeting continued until 6pm as planned and, as agreed with those outside, we will be holding further meetings on this matter in a venue that will accommodate more people.”

If the plans are approved, the hotel would be turned into 44 en-suite bedrooms with shared kitchens, dining, and living spaces.

They were submitted by Robert Crossan, strategic director at SDR Group, a privately owned housing and social care provider based in East Sussex.

The developers said the application was submitted ‘to avoid the building becoming vacant’ and to ‘assist in meeting local housing requirements; adding: “The proposal in this application is therefore to revert the accommodation to residential use and utilise the properties as shared living accommodation.”

Ms Joyce said everyone at the meeting ‘deserved to see what’s going on and have a say’ but ‘the whole format didn’t work’.

She added: “It’s about involving the community and not pushing them away. Letting them hear, see and share their concerns.

“The homeless absolutely need housing but it needs to be a safe, good environment. They absolutely deserve safe homes. It needs to be safe for the community and fair for the vulnerable, whilst removing the risk of anti-social behaviour.”

In response to the debacle, East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton MP said: “What a surprise. Alas I had to be in Westminster and not able to get back to Worthing in time but the constituents objecting to this, with who I have been working, have my full support.”

He earlier took to Facebook to share his concerns.

The MP said: “Many residents have written to me objecting to the plans to turn the Windsor House Hotel into an HMO, or house of multiple occupancy.

“The planning application to turn the hotel into an HMO was turned down by the local planning committee, but the applicant has appealed that decision and submitted another application to have another go.

“In the meantime the Home Office expressed interest in turning the hotel into accommodation for asylum seekers. I am pleased to say the Home Office has dropped their interest.

“However, there is still the prospect of this site becoming an HMO. The council are now in negotiations with the owners about turning the hotel into emergency accommodation for up to 44 people.

"We do need more accommodation of this sort, but this is entirely the wrong place to have it. I agree with local residents who have been complaining for years that the area already has its fair share of HMOs.

"This is a quiet residential area and the reason the application was turned down was the over-concentration of people it would lead to on one site and the impact it would have on the area's character.

“Those circumstances haven't changed, which is why I am working with local residents to object to turning this site into an HMO. This is the wrong use, in the wrong place, and I will be registering my objections with the council again.”

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